Israel leaves millions of bomblets in Lebanon
Just like we did in Fallujah and every other Iraqi town we’ve bombarded. Why clusterbombs should be outlawed
Up to a million cluster bomblets discharged by Israel in its conflict with Hezbollah remain unexploded in southern Lebanon, the UN has said.
The UN’s mine disposal agency says about 40% of the cluster bombs fired or dropped by Israel failed to detonate – three times the UN’s previous estimate.
It says the problem could delay the return home of about 200,000 displaced people by up to two years.
The devices have killed 14 people in south Lebanon since the August truce.
They’re the same as unexploded mines, particularly in urban environments. Don’t believe me? Ask the Lebanese kids who think the bombs are toys and are dying for their curiosity.
When the guns went silent in Aitta Shaab, a war-ravaged village close to the Israeli border, three children skipped through the rubble looking for a little fun.
Hurdling over lumps of crushed concrete and dodging spikes of twisted metal, Sukna, Hassan and Merwa, aged 10 to 12, paused before a curious object. Sukna picked it up. The terrifying blast flung her to the ground, thrusting metal shards into her liver. Hassan’s abdomen was cut open. Merwa was hit in the leg and arm.
“We thought it was just a little ball,” said Hassan with a hoarse whisper in the intensive care ward at Tyre’s Jabal Amel hospital. In the next bed Sukna, a ventilator cupped to her mouth and a tangle of tubes from her arms, said even less.
